Since the snow started falling in Cambridge over a month ago the cold wet weather has wreaked havoc with almost all college playing fields as well as the University pitches at Grange Road. College football and rugby matches have been postponed and the Blues Football team has struggled to find a pitch suitable for training sessions.

Just when it was starting to look as if the weather had cleared up last weekend saw the reappearance of the condidtions that plagued the start of term, resulting in the abandonment of a series of Sporting fixtures. Many groundsmen and Captains ruled playing surfaces to be too treacherous, the ground left frozen and slippery. 

Sports which take place on synthetic pitches, such as hockey, had been largely unaffected but both the male and female Hockey Blues teams were forced to cancel their respective ties on Saturday, the pitches at Wilberforce Road deeemed to be unplayable.

Similar to the start of term, many College pitches appeared to be in reasonable condition, but closer inspection revealed that beneath any coating of snow the ground was still frozen solid. When the water being held in the soil directly below the turf is frozen the ground becomes very hard and most sports are deemed too dangerous.

The hotly anticipated Cuppers encounter between Jesus and Fitzwilliam - which would have seen 11 of the 22 players coming from the Blues set-up - suffered at the hands of the weather, Fitz’s captain James Gillingham making the tough decision to cancel the game just one hour before kick-off. Speaking about  his decision, Gillingham said: “I know it was probably unpopular with both sides but with the standard of football and the pace of play  it would have been dangerous to twist and turn”.

Fitzwilliam College groundsman Dave Norman said “the ground is so hard I can’t even get the corner flags in the ground.” Even when the weather warms the prospect of rain could mean that, even though the pitches will thaw, the combination of the rain and the water produced when the ground defrosts will leave the ground sodden and equally unusable. The ground quickly transformed from too hard to too soft and whilst this is far less dangerous it makes play difficult and can damage the pitches almost beyond repair - cue angry groundsmen.

Last year colleges were forced to deal with similar problems when heavy rain led to flooding and matches were postponed. The nature of Cambridge sport, with its short terms and intense schedule, is affected more than most by such problems as teams are forced to squeeze multiple matches into a few weeks, sometimes having to play two fixtures in close succession. With the Cambridge tradition of a Cuppers competition on top of the league, time is tight and no doubt the end of Lent is going to be busy as all the teams in the university try to make up for lost time.

Colleges will be under pressure to play their matches, no-one will want to forfeit 3 points in a division where eight of the tenteams are separated by only six points. Certain Colleges will be hit by the weather harder than others, any sides still having to play games left over from last term could really struggle to fulfill their league commitments.

In PWC Division I of the men’s football league, both Jesus and Christ’s have only played four games, leaving five still needing to be played. Ironically, the situation could be made worse for Jesus if they manage to progress in Cuppers, adding another fixture to be played over the limited number of weekends. With Jesus required to play Fitzwilliam in Cuppers and the PWC League, one option that has been suggested is for this weekend’s fixture, originally intended to be a league encounter, to count for both league and cup. Blues teams will be likewise optimistic that their training schedules will not be impeded ahead of key Varsity clashes. Whatever happens College captains of a number of sports will be keeping their fingers crossed that the weather holds out so that this year’s fixtures can be completed. If the weather does strike then the closing weeks of term could be very hectic.